The Man and The Girl

The Man

A/N: Hello everyone! It's been a while. I wrote this a while ago for an assignment for my creative writing class. The assignment was to write about a Bench, Bag, and Character. This assignment focused on playing with perspectives. I hope you enjoy!!!

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Everyday it's the same thing. Go to work, get bitched at by the boss, and pretend like I give a shit about business run by corporate monkeys. To think that I waited my years in college to be stuck doing this shitty job for the rest of my life. I've just accepted that this is my life forever. There's no point in fighting it. I walk through the residential streets in my neighborhood feeling exhausted from my 12hr shift. Even making the trip back to my empty apartment feels like a job.

Most of my coworkers are married. It's probably exciting to go home to see the warm smile of your wife. Unfortunately, there's no one waiting for me. Just the dust bunnies and roaches. "Damn, why am I making myself feel sad." Feeling exhausted, I make my way to the children's park in front of me to rest on a bench. Seeing that evening was approaching, most kids would be running home at this time. Perfect for me to have a quiet place to relax.

I sat on the wooden bench that overlooked the children's playground. And beyond the houses and streetlights was the sunset. I took out a pack of Marlboro's from my briefcase and lit a cigarette. After taking that first exhale, it felt like I was also releasing some of the worries I had. Just as I was about to take another inhale, I was startled by a sudden ringing. It sounded like something you'd hear at Kiddyland. Curious, I looked for the source of the sound. Looking under the bench, I saw a red randoseru.

"A randoseru huh? Some kid probably forgot it here." I thought to myself. Grabbing the bag, I sit it next to me. Since the bag was closer to me I could finally hear that the sound wasn't just ringing, it was playing a melody.

"I should probably leave it alone, the kid will come back for it. It'd look pretty weird for a 35 year old man going through a kid's backpack."

I decided to leave the bag alone and continue to smoke my cigarette. But unfortunately, the ringing melody wouldn't stop. Slowly, I could feel a headache coming on. Feeling annoyed I decided it wouldn't hurt to just open the bag to turn off the sound. When I opened the randoseru, I looked into the bag that had a Hamtaro pencil case, a 2nd grade textbook, and a magical girl manga. At the bottom of the bag I saw a little toy that was the source of the sound. Taking it out of the bag, the little toy in my hand was a Tamagotchi.

The character was a little blob and it made a hungry face.

Maybe if I feed it it'll stop ringing.

Wanting to stop the noise, I clicked multiple buttons until I found the feeding button. The animation showed it drinking a bottle and making a satisfied face. It played one last melody and the ringing stopped.

That should do it. I said to myself, satisfied.

"Ahh! Hyurutchi!!" a little voice yells at me. I looked up and saw a little girl with pigtails running over to me. Assuming the toy was her's I passed it to her.

"Hyurutchi, you're ok!" The big eyed girl looked at me. "Mister, did you take care of Hyurutchi??"

"You mean your blob? Uh..yeah I fed it."

She gives me a wide smile and says, "Thank you Mister! Mama said if I don't take care of Hyurutchi he'll go away forever! Thanks for watching him." She gives me a polite bow. Rubbing the back of my head and unsure what to say I just say, "You're welcome."

The little girl then decides to sit next to me while playing with her toy. "So whatcha doing here by yourself Mister? I don't see you around here everyday."

Realizing I still have the cigarette in my hand, I decided to put it out.

"I just didn't want to go home."

"Won't your mommy and daddy be worried about you?"

Now that she mentions it, my parents have been calling me every now and then to see what I've been up to. But I've been too busy to respond to them.

I look at her and say, "I'm a grown-up so I don't live with my parents. I could say the same about you, little girl. Shouldn't you be running home?"

"I'm not little! I'm 8yrs old!" She says matter-of-factly and gives me an angry look.
"Also, I ran back home without my backpack so Mama told me to go get it."

"So...shouldn't you be going back home now that you found your stuff?"

She continues playing with her toy. Not losing her focus she says, "I can't leave yet."

"Why's that?" I curiously ask.

She stops her game and looks up at me.
"You must feel lonely huh?"

Taken aback, I don't know how to respond.

"I get lonely really easily too. When you feel lonely you just want to have fun with someone. That's why I always hang out with Nana-chan and Ai-chan everyday afterschool! I'll stay here until you're not lonely anymore."

"Didn't your parents tell you to not talk to strangers? I could be a bad person for all you know." I tell her, wanting her to run home already.

"You're not a bad person! A bad person wouldn't have fed Hyurutchi. I can tell you're a good person Mister."

For the first time in a long time I got complimented. And knowing that kids are brutally honest I know it wasn't like the fake conversations I have at work.

"Also, I'm Yui Eguchi! What's your name?"

"Just call me Mister."

"Okay then, Mister! Now we know each other's names, we're not strangers anymore!" She gives me a mischievous smile. I couldn't help but smirk at her smart comment.

"You should smile more, Mister, it'll make you feel better."

Letting out a sigh I say, "I do feel better. You should hurry home to your parents."

Yui puts on her backpack and jumps off the bench. "That's good! Mama says that if I ever feel lonely I should talk to her or play with my friends. You should talk to your mama too, Mister! Bye!" Before I could respond to her she hurried off with a backpack that looked bigger than her.

For a little kid she sure knows how to talk about important stuff. I think to myself. It made me feel like how all adults used to be blunt and lived-carefree like her at some point. I wonder what happened for us to have fake conversations and worry about when the next paycheck is due. I thought about how the world was simple in her eyes. Talking with her made me think that sometimes the answer to our worries is a lot more simpler than we thought.

I take my briefcase and get up from the bench.

"I should call my mom when I get home."